Article supporting device



Fig.l 20 Fig.2

July 16, 1968 BONNER 3,392,952

ARTICLE SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed July 7. 1966 INVENIOR Marilyn PatriciaBonner BY MW%%% ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,392,952 ARTICLESUPPORTING DEVICE Marilyn P. Bonner, 758 Kings Highway, Shreveport, La.71104 Filed July 7, 1966, Ser. No. 563,441 9 Claims. (Cl. 248-350)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An article supporing device comprising asupport which is readily adjustable in size, preferably made of aninflatable material, such as rubber, which will retain its generalcontours during its various inflated sizes, such as the shape of a humanhead for supporting wigs, and which may be readily deflated for storage,and has a rigid base support.

This invention relates to an article supporting device, and particularlyto wig stands which may be adjusted for the support of different sizesof wigs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved,simplified, and sturdy article supporting device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedarticle supporting device which is readily adjustable in size toaccommodate the support of different sizes of articles.

A further object of the present device is to provide an improved wigdisplay stand which is inflatable to different sizes to provide for thesupport of different sizes of wigs.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparentfrom the following description referring to the accompanying drawing,and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will bepointed out with particularity in the claims appended to and forming apart of this specification.

In accordance with the present invention, an improve-d articlesupporting device is provided which comprises an inflatable articlesupporting member, which, in the case of a wig stand, is made in thegeneral shape of a human head attached to a neck portion. The neckportion of the device is adapted to have a snug frictional supportingengagement within a collar of a supporting base. Preferably the base isformed with an enlarged flange which extends radially outwardly to alarger diameter than the collar, so as to provide greater stability tothe supporting device. Such an inflatable article supporting device, notonly provides a very useful article display stand, but most convenientlyprovides a form of shape retainer which is readily deflated for ease intransportation and inflated for supporting the article, such as a wig,when not in use. Various details of the improved article supportingdevice will be more readily understood from the following description ofthe illustrated embodiment in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention,particularly adapted for use in supporting wigs;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inflatable member of the wig stan-dshown in FIG. 1, as seen from the left rear side thereof, and removedfrom the supporting base;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a demountable base collar of the typeshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a base mounting flange to which thecollar shown in FIG. 3 is adapted to be secured for providing a base ofthe type shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of an assembly of thecollar in FIG. 3 in the mounting flange shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawing, an article supporting device embodying thepresent invention is illustrated in the form ice of a wig stand. Thiswig stand comprises an inflatable article supporting member, which, inthis instance, is in a form having the general contour of a head 10extending from a neck portion 11. Preferably this inflatable supportingmember is formed of a material, such as rubber, which is expansibleunder inflation, so that the head portion 10 can be expanded withinpredetermined desired limits to provide for supporting various sizes ofwigs corresponding to various similar sizes of heads. The neck portion11 is provided with an inflating tubular connection 12 for providing forthe admission and discharge of inflating medium, such as air, into andfrom the wig supporting member.

In order to provide for a convenient means of mounting the wigsupporting member, at supporting base is provided which preferably isformed of two demountable parts as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and made ofany suitable rigid material, such as wood, plastic, or metal. Thissupporting base preferably includes a collar 13 which is adapted to bedemountably secured in any suitable manner to a supporting flange basemember 14, as by threaded engagement of the lower threaded portion 15 ofthe collar 13 with a complementary threaded collar 16, integral with theflange base member 14. If desired, the supporting base can be made as asingle integral unit.

The collar 13 of the supporting base also preferably is formed with aplurality of ciroumferentia-lly spaced apertures 17. These apertures 17may be decorative to some degree, but perform a very practical function,in that the inflated neck 11 will tend to bulge outwardly into theapertures when it is inserted into the collar 13, thereby forming areadily releasable arrangement for securing the inflated articlesupporting member in stable relationship to the mounting base. Normally,the inflated neck 11 will have a snug frictional engagement within thecollar 13, which also will lend stability to the support of the head 10on the base. Preferably, the inflating tube 12 is positioned in the neck11 relative to its base so that when it is assembled in the collar 13,the inflating tube 12 Will extend outwardly through one of the apertures17, as shown in FIG. 1. With such an arrangement, the inflating tube 12can readily be sealed by a stopper 18 insertable in the opening of thetube 12. The stopper also preferably is attached to the collar 13 by asuitable band 19, or similar element, in order to prevent its beingmisplaced or lost. If desired, the stopper 18 can be dispensed with anda suitable valve mounted directly in the mouth of the inflating tube 12for preventing accidental discharge of inflating medium while providingfor the controllable discharge of medium from the inflated wig stand byany suitable valve .sealing nozzle structure. Also, the inflating tube12 can be located elsewhere on the article supporting member, such asextending into the neck at a position which would normally be above thecollar 13, or it could extend out of the bottom of the neck 11. Thisconvenient inflating and deflating feature provides a portable wig standwhich can readily be deflated and packed in travel baggage, and, onreaching a desired destination, it can be reinflated to hold a wig afterit is removed from the wearers head, so as to keep the wig in propershape.

Preferably, article positioning and retaining means are additionallyprovided on the surface of the article supporting member 10, and thesemay comprise a plurality of the protuberances in the form of beads 20.These beads are preferably arranged in circumferentially spacedrelationship, extending generally around the head 10, nearer the top ofthe head on the side thereof adjacent to the portion corresponding to aface and extending somewhat lower on the opposite back side of the head,whereby a wig is adapted to being held in substantially the position ofa scalp on a head. Preferably, also, these beads 20 extend as aplurality of circles, and, as shown in FIGS. 1

and 2, these two circles preferably are eccentrically arranged closertogether towards the top front side of the head, and farther aparttowards the back of the head. It is not essential that the head have aface thereon, but this may be found to add to the attractiveness of adisplay of wigs on such supporting devices when used in places such asstore windows, sales counters, and beauty salons.

While a particular embodiment of this invention has been illustrated anddescribed, modifications thereof will occur to those skilled in the art.It is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not to belimited to the particular details disclosed, and it is intended in theappended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scopeof this invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. An article supporting device comprising an inflatable articlesupporting member having means for admitting an inflating medium intosaid member and for preventing the accidental discharge of the mediumwhile providing for controlled discharge of the medium therethrough, andmeans comprising a supporting base having a part into which a portion ofsaid article supporting member extends in snug frictional engagementtherein when inflated for retaining said supporting member in position,said part of said base being formed as a collar extending upwardly froma larger sized support member and having means for receiving saidinflation medium admission means comprising an aperture in the side ofsaid collar.

2. An article supporting device comprising an inflatable articlesupporting member having means for admitting an inflating medium intosaid member and for preventing the accidental discharge of the mediumwhile providing for controlled discharge of the medium therethrough, andmeans comprising a supporting base having a part into which a portion ofsaid article supporting member extends in snug frictional engagementtherein when inflated for retaining said supporting member in position,said article supporting member having the general contours of a headwhen inflated and being provided with means in addition to said contoursfor positioning and retaining an article on said member.

3. A supporting device as defined in claim 2 wherein said articlepositioning and retaining means comprises a series of spacedprotuberances arranged in a predetermined configuration.

4. A supporting device as defined in claim 6 wherein said series ofprotuberances are arranged in a plurality of spaced circles.

5. A supporting device of the type defined in claim 2 wherein saidarticle positioning and retaining means comprises a series of spacedbeads arranged in a plurality of diiferent diameters.

6. A supporting device of the type defined in claim 5, wherein theeccentricity of said circles is such as to place the circles lower onone side of said head and closer together toward the top of the headwhereby the support is particularly adapted to retain a wig insubstantially the position of the scalp on a head.

7. A wig stand comprising an inflatable wig-supporting member made ofcollapsible material adapted to be inflated to the general contours of ahead on a neck and having an inflating medium admission and dischargenozzle, means for controllably sealing the nozzle, means comprising arigid hollow collar for receiving the lower end of said neck and saidneck being of such size when inflated for providing a snug tightretaining fit within said hollow collar, said collar having an aperturein the side thereof into which aperture said nozzle is fitted, amounting base, and means for removably mounting said collar on saidbase.

8. A stand as defined in claim 7 wherein said head member has a partdepicting a face and is provided with a plurality of spaced wigpositioning and retaining beads on the side and top of said head memberaway from said face and corresponding to the scalp portion of the head.

9. A stand as defined in claim 8 wherein said retaining beads arearranged as a pair of eccentric circles of different diameters closertogether toward the top forepart of the head whereby a wig is adapted tobe held in substantially the position of the scalp of the head.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,436,330 11/1922 Wiener 223672,354,015 7/1944 Handley et a1. 248-361 2,622,737 12/1952 Balley 248346X 3,257,048 6/1966 Wolder 223-67 JOHN PETO, Primary Examiner.

